A MUSEUM is to tell the story of a Victorian boat that plied the train tracks as part of an event celebrating the greener side of railways.
From today until Sunday, June 4, the south yard at the National Railway Museum, in York, will be transformed with flowers and plants supplied by three local nurseries.
Minibeast adventures organised by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will enable visitors to discover the wealth of wildlife on and around railways and in their gardens.
Piles of litter will transformed into large sculptures of some of the locomotives in the museum's collection. Workers from Rural Arts, based in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, will help visitors weave artwork out of crisp packets, carrier bags and chocolate wrappers.
Visitors will also have the chance to get close to a range of British and European birds of prey that find rich pickings among the wildlife beside railways.
There will be a collection of railway vehicles propelled pollution-free by human or battery power.
They include a pedal-powered velocipede and a pump trolley of the type seen in US silent films.
A star of the show is Spooner's Boat, a device created by a Victorian to woo his girlfriend. Essentially a sailing boat on wheels, it was powered by wind and gravity. The original machine met a sticky end when its creator sailed into the path of an oncoming train, but a faithful reproduction is on show at the museum.
The site is already home to two locomotives that were capable of regenerating electricity through their movement.
An exhibition will illustrate Network Rail's work to keep track clear of vegetation, including the story behind leaves on the line, with a high-technology rail treatment train.
A photography exhibition commissioned for the event will show what happens to railway structures when nature takes over.
The National Trust will illustrate the link between sustainable heritage attractions, green tourism and green transport, while the Association of Community Rail Partnerships will explain the importance of local railways to communities.
Platform 4, the museum's professional theatre company, will present a new show looking at how old railways have found a new and green lease of life.
Meanwhile, an exhibition by cycling charity Sustrans will reveal how old lines and structures are preserved for recreation, transport and wildlife, including a display brought to life by pedal power.
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